


Only Holy Story

by nanimo_nagi



Category: Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Fourze
Genre: Canon Temporary Character Death, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Shopping, F/M, Kamen Rider - Freeform, Kamen Rider Fourze - Freeform, Past Character Death, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, SPOILERS ep 32, fourze
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 04:57:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14301279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanimo_nagi/pseuds/nanimo_nagi
Summary: THIS FIC CONTAINS SPOILERS BEFORE EP 32 OF KAMEN RIDER FOURZE..........After since the "incident" between Ryuusei and Kisaragi, only one Rider has been able to get into the Christmas spirit (yes it's Christmas time in this fic, don't worry about it). Guilt weighs on Ryuusei's mind and puts up a barrier between him and the other Rider Club members. Tomoko especially is avoiding him, which only deepens his characteristic angst. Thanks to a hare-brained plan cooked up by Yuuki, he's able to get some alone time with the gothy girl, but will it only reveal the hate she holds for him since his betrayal?...





	Only Holy Story

**Author's Note:**

> The title for this fic is taken from the Steady&Co song of the same name that inspired the mood and original idea.

The Christmas season came again, and along with it, great affection for the savior who died for our sins, only to rise once more. Yes, everyone in the Kamen Rider Club was certainly glad to have Gentaro Kisaragi back. Even now that Sagittarius had been identified as the shadowy leader of the Zodiarts, and stronger than any other Horoscope the team had encountered before, there was a lull in the ongoing battle that everyone appreciated. Perhaps denizens of evil also had presents to buy and dates to go on.

And yet, two days before Christmas, the Rabbit Hutch was still devoid of holiday cheer. Everyone had been busy studying for exams, which had fallen by the wayside after the whole kidnapping incident. But at least the gang was back together again. Shun was pumping his barbells while also keeping one eye on Miu, who was busily thumbing through magazine specials to see which stores would be best to hit up after school. JK was strumming at his guitar, considering how to capitalize on the Christmas spirit and give his tunes a festive twist; Kisaragi was helping, in his own way, by playing around with JK’s other instruments while trying to figure out how JK was doing his chord progressions.

Kengo was full of Christmas cheer-- meaning he had locked himself inside his soundproof lab and continued to do research on the new Switches, as usual. Ryusei, being back in the clubhouse for the first time since coming home from the hospital, wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. Everyone seemed to have a “thing” in the Rabbit Hutch they did to pass the time. But he, up until very recently having falsified part of his personality to infiltrate the Kamen Rider Club, had trouble switching back to his more “genuine” self. This lead him to sit idly on the edge of the loft, a book in hand but not reading. He was trying to enjoy the fact that Kisaragi was back, and that his friend had awakened from Aries’ influence. Everything should be great. But even he couldn’t quite pretend that.

Tomoko was not at her usual place, in front of her witchy altar that she had built into a corner of the Rabbit Hutch. When Ryusei had arrived, he was informed by Miu and Shun that she had left early, not citing any particular reason for her departure. It was early enough that she might have had some errands to attend to and would be back later. But it was over an hour past, and Ryusei was now stuck in that awful purgatory of waiting for a person who might possibly not show up, or leaving just before they did. The door to the Hutch opened, and Ryusei prevented himself from darting a look too quickly before he heard Yuki’s greeting fill the space. His heart dropped just a little bit.

Yuki had been out gathering some supplies to decorate the Hutch, which she spilled out onto the table in a cascade of garlands, santa hats and jingle bells. As the others started to noisily comment about them, Yuki noticed Ryusei on his perch and gave him a friendly smile and wave. He gave her a weak shake of his hand back, and figured he should go join the group in some capacity.

“Wait, Miu, why do you get to be the only santa?”

“Why? It’s obvious isn’t it? Santa is going to need a lot of reindeer.” She looked very pointedly around at all of them.

Kisaragi slammed his foot down on the table. “Like hell! Everyone knows that santa has the best job. Delivering presents to all the kids? I’m the guy for that! Just imagine how well I can do that with my Fourze suit!”

Miu smirked at him. “Yes, but just think about how well you’d do at being Santa’s Rudolph.”

Kisaragi looked confused. “Rudolph?”  
“Yes. The very best reindeer. The leader of the pack. Without him, the others are lost. I can’t think of a better person...”

Kisaragi’s very low bar for flattery had been reached. “Alright then! If someone’s gotta do it!”

Shun looked slightly deflated. “So, is there any other reindeer as important as Rudolph?”

Miu either didn’t pick up on his implication, or pretended not to. “Who knows. You can be Donner. Or Blitzen. Or whoever else. Take your pick.”

Shun cast his eyes down at the identical sets of felt reindeer antlers on the table. “Blitzen huh...”

Ryusei ducked under a string of tinsel that JK was trying to garland him with. “I think I’ll pass on being a reindeer at all. I’m sure between Shun’s brawn and Kisaragi’s enthusiasm, you two will do just fine.”

Shun turned his pouting at Ryusei. “Don’t be a wet blanket, Ryusei. You know the way of the Kamen Rider Club. One for all, All for Miu.”

Ryusei gave him a grimace. “Thanks, I’ll pass.” He started for the door, intending to take his leave for the day. The noise picked up behind him, to cover up the moment of awkwardness. Once back on Earth, he stopped his swift pace and fell back into melancholy thought. He didn’t hear Yuki come up behind him until she called his name, which made him jump a bit.

“Sorry, Ryusei-san! I was just wondering if you’re alright.”

Ryusei threw another of his practiced smiles at her. “Fine. Thanks.”

He made to walk away again, but Yuki didn’t give him the chance. “It’s sad that Nozama-san didn’t stick around today… I feel like you wanted to see her.”

Ryusei felt tingly. “Not really. It’s fine.”

“Hey, Ryusei-san...”

She didn’t say anything further, which required Ryusei to turn around to face her. He was met with crossed arms and cheeks that were puffed up into Yuki’s usual pout.

“Sorry, what?”

“I know you’ve got a lot on your mind. A whole lot’s happened in the past few days. But remember what you promised Gen-chan? You don’t have to hide anything anymore from us.”

This put Ryusei’s back against a proverbial wall. He had a decision to make at this moment, and he was honestly tired of putting up a face.

“Yeah. Sorry… I just… I’m a bit confused. I don’t know if Tomo- ah, Nozama-san is trying to avoid me for some reason? It seems like it’s been happening since… that whole thing.”

He tried to reference his blatant treason and murder of Gentaro with the utmost delicacy, but he couldn’t quite find a neutral way to put it.

“I’ve noticed it too!” The earnest sincerity was back in Yuki’s eyes. “She is acting weird, no doubt about it! We need to do something about it.”

“Do we?”

“Of course! The Kamen Rider Club supports each other till the end! And now is more important than ever! No one should be feeling dark on the holidays!”

“I’m pretty sure feeling dark is Nozama-san’s natural way of things...”

“She looks like it, but you know that’s not the case! She’s a really nice girl who loves her friends! She likes you a lot too Ryusei-san!”

Ryusei really wished he could force himself to stop blushing at this particular moment. “Ah. Uh. Yeah. Anyway, what were you thinking of?”

~ ~ ~

“Kamen Rider Club’s Special Operation: Let’s Decorate the Rabbit Hutch!!”

Yuki tossed some confetti into the air, which fell down upon the elaborate chart she had laid out for said plan. Everyone was gathered around the table, including Tomoko, and even Kengo, whom Yuki had managed to lure out of his lab. This was actually thanks to Ryusei; Kengo had been more withdrawn than ever, avoiding the holiday cheer like a nasty strain of influenza, until Ryusei managed to slip in and worm some choice words of guilt into his ear about Yuki trying her best to get everyone back in good spirits. And Yuki had upheld her end of the secret plan and managed to get Tomoko to stay at the clubhouse for the meeting. The witchy girl didn’t act particularly differently from her normal dour self, but something still felt more closed off than usual to Ryusei. He wondered how he could tell that in the first place, as he hadn’t spent a huge amount of time talking to her. But the moments they had conversed up till this point had been surprisingly pleasant.

“Didn’t we already get supplies for this?” Shun asked with a raised hand.

“Not nearly enough! How do you expect Santa to come visit us up here on the moon if we don’t make our Christmas spirit seen from SPACE!” She leapt up in the air, immediately followed by Kisaragi, who had an almost-Pavlovian response to the word “space”.

Miu shrugged. “No use arguing. Look how wound up she is. Besides, it would be nice to check out the mid-day sales at the shopping arcade while we’re at it.”

“Right! Now, without further ado, I will randomly assign the couples who will go shopping together!” Yuki pulled out an extra santa hat from her bag and jammed her hand in, almost immediately pulling out two strangely-cut, folded pieces of paper.

“First couple! Miu and Shun-san!”

Shun’s whole body perked up at this announcement. Miu rolled her eyes.

“Aaaaand second couple! Kengo and Gen-chan!”

“Uhh, Yuki, why exactly are those papers so strangely cut-”

“MOVING ON! We have… uh...” Yuki took a bit longer to fish around in her hat this time, to many raised eyebrows. “Juuuuuust makin’ sure they’re good and uh, randomized! Yep! Here we go, look, it’s me and JK! Which means of course, Tomoko-chan and Ryusei-san are the last couple! Great!”

JK picked one of the papers up off the ground. “Weird, it almost looks like you were trying to make paper snowflakes and messed up...”

Yuki drowned him out with enthusiasm. “ALRIGHT! Let’s go couples, no time to waste! Here’s your maps, here’s your lists, and a punishment game awaits whoever doesn’t get everything they need!”

Everyone rushed to grab their coats, and Tomoko and Ryusei were left alone for a moment, with a deep sense of awkwardness immediately settling between them.

Ryusei cleared his throat. “Ah. Hum. Right, shall we go?”

Tomoko nodded, still avoiding his gaze. “Yes. Let’s hurry.”

~ ~ ~

At least Ryusei could see Tomoko’s eyes in the reflection of the window they now stood in front of, in the middle of the busy shopping arcade. They still avoided his gaze.

“So, what? How about this store? It looks like we could find, uh,” he consulted his list, “a couple of stuffed bears and ribbons here? Jeez, what in the world is Yuki planning on doing with this?”

Tomoko glided past him towards the entrance. “Who knows. It’s almost like this whole thing was made up for some other purpose.”

Ryusei sighed and followed her. It seemed like even when they had some time alone together, things weren’t going to improve.

The store seemed to have ordered far too much holiday cheer for the size of the interior, but still managed to cram everything in regardless. The duo shifted past twinkling trees and stepped over parts of electronic train sets, towards racks of stuffed animals that were decorated and ready for the stocking.  
Ryusei had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for, so after a minute be grabbed one that had a black bow, which he secretly hoped Tomoko would resonate with.

“How about him? Pretty cute huh?”

Tomoko gave a sidelong glance at the bear. “Rejected. Black is not a Christmas color.” She shifted her black petticoat further up the shoulders of her black lace dress.

“Alright then… how about this one?”

“Too fluffy. It looks like it would shed in your hands.” Next.

“It’s tiny. You wouldn’t even see it sitting in a Christmas tree.” Next. 

“That one’s holding a heart. It’s obviously a Valentine’s Day bear, someone mistakenly put it out on the shelf.”

Ryusei had gotten about halfway through all the options on the shelf when he realized he was in for a similarly-long list of rejections. The message seemed pretty clear to him now anyways.

“Alright. Well, why don’t you choose which one you think is best then. I’m obviously no good at this stuff. I’ll just wait outside and not get in your way. Sorry.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and headed for the door.

While leaning against the glass window outside, he watched his white breath dance upwards into the darkening sky. She definitely hated him, and he couldn’t fix it. And no wonder. He really had been trying to keep the events of the kidnapping out of his mind, but every other time he looked at Kisaragi these days, he just kept recalling the moment when he thrust that sword into him. And yet, Kisaragi had forgiven him so easily. Ryusei had killed him, for crying out loud. Kisaragi was really beyond comprehension as a normal human. And what’s more, even if the others did hold a grudge against him for it, even if they trusted him less than they ever did back when he was deceiving them, they all followed Kisaragi’s infectious belief in whatever good side they saw in him. It was just beyond comprehension.

The bell on the door tinkled next to him, but he didn’t look over. A furry nose pressed against his cheek.

“I got the one with the black bow.”

He looked over and saw Tomoko holding the bear. She was looking at him now, and it was almost too much to handle. He threw his gaze back into the sky.

“I thought you said black wasn’t a Christmas color.”

“It’s not. But… that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get to enjoy Christmas.”

It was such a bittersweet and cute thing to say that Ryusei simply didn’t have a good response, instead biting his lip to keep everything from spilling out.

“I’m sorry if I was bothering you,” Tomoko said.

“It’s not- you weren’t… I was afraid I was troubling you.”

“You were.”

Ryusei’s heart dropped into his sneakers. “Oh.”

“You’re troubling everyone, Ryusei. Could you really expect otherwise?”

Ryusei’s feelings hardened into something more sharp. “Yeah, I guess not. I get it. As much as Kisaragi somehow believes I’m a good guy, all of you know better. I really should just take my leave and let you guys… get back to normal.”

He turned to leave, but the sleeve of his coat was caught.

“We can’t go back to normal now, even if you leave.”

“Yeah, I know, I really screwed things up, but hey, that’s all I know how to do right now. That’s the best I can do, okay?” He yanked at his sleeve, and it was released. He really was going to go this time, maybe for good-- but the last thing he heard over his shoulder made him freeze again.

“Just wait.”

The pain and fragility in that voice instantly melted all his rash anger and frustration, allowing everything to bubble dangerously close to the surface once more. He turned around to meet Tomoko’s frustrated face.

“I can’t say it right. I can’t say what I’m trying to mean, and you’re getting the wrong idea. Just wait and let me say it right.”

All Ryusei could do was nod, and slump back against the window, breathing slightly heavily.

After a long moment, Tomoko still hadn’t said anything, and by this point, Ryusei had to say something or he was worried he would burst.

“He didn’t even let me try to apologize.”

“Were you going to?”

“I wanted to… but I have no idea how to do that. Like… how the hell do you ask for forgiveness…” he let the implication trail off into breathy vapor.

“Isn’t his forgiveness enough?”

“I don’t know. Shouldn’t it be? But at the same time… I feel like… If I accept it so easily, I’ll truly be a bad person.”

“…….. I agree.”

“… I know I’m a bad person. I’ve accepted that. Why can’t… other people accept that too and just push me out already.”

“Because we know the truth.”

Ryusei looked over at her questioningly. She was looking into the teddy bear’s eyes, which she held gently in her hands.

“You’re a person who’s done bad things. But you don’t mean to be a bad person.”

“What difference does that make?”

“It makes the difference between a Kamen Rider and a Zodiart.”

Those words hung between them longer than Tomoko’s snowy breath.

“Trust me,” she said, “I’ve been friends with both before.”

Ryusei turned his blurry vision away from the girl next to him. “So what do I do. How do I atone for everything. When I’m not really even given the chance...”

“Don’t worry about that. Kisaragi has forgiven you and trusts you. There was never a time when that wasn’t true. The others… they’ve forgiven you, but they don’t trust you.”

Ryusei nodded. It seemed like a fair assessment.

“And me… I haven’t forgiven you.”

Ryusei’s heart resigned itself back into the soles of his sneakers.

“But… I do trust you.”

He turned to her in surprise, forgetting to clear his blurred vision. “What? How does that make sense?”

“That’s what you need right now, right?”

Ryusei fell silent again.

“For your own peace of mind, you need to atone. And to atone, you need to not be forgiven until you’ve adequately done that. But… you also need someone to trust in you right now.”

“I don’t want trust that’s given just because I need it.”

“I don’t give trust just because you want it. I’m trusting you because I want to.”

Ryusei rubbed at his temple, while also surreptitiously wiping at his eye. “Why would you want to do that.”

“I’m not going to tell you now.”

“What?”

He turned to her, to be met with the face of the black-ribboned bear, having been put very closely in front of his own.

“I told him. When I was buying him and you were outside. He knows. And he thinks it’s a good reason. But… you don’t get to know yet.”

“When do I get to know?”

“When do you think?”

Ryusei felt himself smile. It was a very strange experience, as it wasn’t something he was used to doing involuntarily.

“Yeah, okay. I get it. So can you at least give me an approximation of when that time will be?”

“It won’t come any quicker by asking questions like that.” The black-ribboned bear was dropped into his hands, as Tomoko collected the bags around her feet. “But maybe carrying all these decorations till we get back to the Rabbit Hutch will be a small improvement.”

Without any other remarks, not wanting to change anything about the moment, Ryusei grabbed the bags and followed Tomoko’s swishing black cloak down the street of the shopping arcade. They dodged around the many couples that paraded down either side of the street. Ryusei felt slightly envious of them all, for reasons he didn’t bother to consider. The other couples, however, didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.


End file.
